I thought leather was a bid deal or us as well. However, on reflection, most of the material in so called "leather seats" isn't leather anyway; it's vinyl! Only a small portion of the actual seating area is leather. Plus, at this price range, it's not the glove soft stuff that feels so good either. Ordinarly vinyl is the big deal for me: it constantly off gases, perpetually coating the windows with a smear that's difficult, to next to impossible to remove. Even when you do, in a day or so, it's back! The more of that crappy vinyl you have in the interior, the worse the problem. Toyota claims the SofTex used in the new seats to be 99% free of VOC's the stuff that degrades and causes the off gassing. To me, that's a significant upgrade over the present junk usually combined with those slivers of leather contained in "leather" interiors. Anyway, I fell for it and bought a V with SofTex. We'll soon see if their claims are marketing hype or reality.
I guess the slivers are the seating surfaces? Big slivers and it still smells like leather when I open the door. Glad they don't "build them like they used to" I remember the my parents GM cars with vinyl seats, in the summer the windows looked like wax paper if you didn't clean the inside.
The big deal for me are those adjustable seats. That and the back up camera are the deal breakers for me. The Softex stuff in the V is nice. My salesman had a V in the back, and he showed me the composition of the seat material. It looks like leather and feels like soft leather. It will do.
'11 Prius Two is sold every day here for $1792 dealer discount + $1k instant rebate. This is 'year end clearance' / making room for the 2012 mid-cycle refresh. Won't see these year end prices in March on 2012's.
Well that kinda depends on how well the 12's sell initially and gas prices, so we all all just guessing, but I like my guess.
I'm struggling with similar issue and have been debating between the two models for the wife. Been looking at the basic 2011 Prius III w/o NAV (would probably install aftermarket myself). If I pull the trigger on the 2011, it'll be next week before the New Years. We don't really need a car right away so I can wait but the price seems to be the driving factor. My best guess is that I would be spending $3000 more on the 2012, which as previous person stated, can by gas on the Prius for couple of years. Tough call. Wish me luck...
Not quite $3k difference. 2011 Three with Navigation would be mostly comparable with 2012 Three. 2011 three,no nav really doesn't compare with the '12 three. 2011 Three/nav around here can be had for about $24,688 at discount 2012 Three should be just about $26,500 sticker with some discount ($500, $1k ?) You lose the JBL audio in the '12 Three, but gain three door smart key and Entune capability. So, it's more like $1500 difference.
I just got a quote for 2011 three w/o Nav for $22114. I'm not sure if your $24,688 is out the door price or not. But having said that, if I were to get a 2012, I would be contempt with just the Prius Two. I have other factors going in to this, I'm also in the process of buying a home as well so I might put off the purchase and in that case, I'll buy the 2012 sometime next year. But if that doesn't fall through, I'll have to make the tough call next week... oh and by the way, it seems like we have similar tastes. me and the wifey both drive honda accord coupes and I'll be getting a cruiser in the spring for commuting.
My next real jump will be total electric. Why, From ICE to hybrid you get a 50% reduction of gas. From hybrid to plug in hybrid, you get just 25% reduction. Waiting for another 50%, for zero gas usage. I did make a small jump because of pricing, from 2008 with 45k miles to a 2011 for around $5k, my wife likes it:cheer2:. Will wait now for a total electric one. I'm optimizing a small solar farm now. What I mean about optimizing is adjusting for more productivity. I'm getting 18,000 kwh's now a year. Last summer I made a 7% change in kwh's. Just made another this winter of about 1% in kwh's. Ya, stairs going up to trap door. I'm retired and drive an ICE truck (12-17 mpg). Okay, it's a blast to drive 'off-road'. My 'on-road' is not that much. 2 to 3k a year. http://www.enichesoftware.com/media/myh3.jpg Thanks everyone for helping me pay for my solar , https://www.sunpowermonitor.com/res...FD16-7605-4C98-B2C4-773C5426EDF6&type=address Vern
2011 Three w/nav at $24,688 is not out the door price. How it works is they take the dealer discount of $1792, you pay sales tax on that and doc fees, then the $1k rebate is applied, so it would be over about $27.4k out the door. Honda Accord coupe, well, I'm in my 40's, but enjoying the Prius much more. can't go back to conventional car anymore
That's coo . See the video of the dude on chevy.com who's gone 2,100 miles in 0.6 gallons of gas in his Volt. Littany of people waiting for great plug-in cars, but it's a waiting game for better battery technology and from what I know, progress will come slowly and steadily. So, I'm not holding my breath on it.
Cycledrum, Thank's guy, I like your posts. My home is total electric with 10 electric bill's that read $ zero, so far this year. I added a couple links to post #50. Monitoring system and my one of many vices, my ICE truck . Vern
The just released 2012 MSRP pricing shows it will go up $500 to $1000 for each trim level of the standard genII prius, probably to separate the model better from the up coming prius c. I would get a deal on the 2011 while you can as the upgrades are very minor for the 2012 (a little face lift and a few more fluff options like blue tooth on the II and back-up camera on the III)
on Three, make that USB, Nav, Entune capability, backup camera and 3 door smart key for sticker price of about $26.5k (2011 three w/nav is about $27k) ... you just lose a couple speakers in back, CD changer and amplifier for the sound system, so it's going to sound weaker. To get USB, touchscreen, bluetooth handfree phone/controls and music streaming in 2012 Two is a step up.
I just bought a 2011 Silver Prius III with Navigation package for 24k with the $1000 rebate. Pros: 2.5k lesser. Savings on taxes too. two extra speakers and amplifier. No annoying sound of the 2012 prisu Cons: Entune 3 Door smart key. For me the Pros are worth way more than the Cons. The annoying sound make the decision for me, otherwise I was waiting for the 2012.
Just got news letter on an electric car that just might work better then a 2012 plug-in Prius. Very cool car. Beats Prius if you have an extra 10k (more... room, miles, power). In post 50 I said, my next car after Prius 2011 will be an electric. Model S Options and Pricing | Tesla Motors Tesla Model S World Premiere Video Series Teaser - YouTube Vern
After reading the postings here I decided to trade today. Traded my 2005 with 90,000 miles in for a 2011 Prius. I did not want to mess with the nosie thing on the 2012s and did not notice that much difference plus they worked well with me on the trade. If you see a red 2011 with Missouri plates MPG 55 ...honk !!!.
Congratulations. I decided to wait for the 2012's. I dont' think the noisemaker will bother me, and there were enough changes to make it worthwhile for me.
According to the TSB that just came out, the 2012's will have the upgraded right rear engine mount that's supposed to eliminate occurence of vibration in some 10/11's when starting after 'cold soak' of engine (sitting in 32F or less weather). See sielerts post about that.
